


Hearthfire

by retrojupiter



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: (but he's a human baby), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, MULTIPLE NIGHTS-, this is 5k of a dumb christmas date and i hope you enjoy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:26:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28451604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/retrojupiter/pseuds/retrojupiter
Summary: "And there was a guy stood in the middle of the aisle, staring at baby toys like they had personally ruined his life. Cobb didn’t think he had ever seen a guy look so concentrated on toys before – and he’d seen a lot of weird shit in this store. But goddammit, store policy was to ask every customer-“Hey there, can I help you?”(aka, a silly Christmas meet-cute that brought me great joy to write)
Relationships: Din Djarin/Cobb Vanth
Comments: 54
Kudos: 335
Collections: Covert Discord New Years Fic Exchange





	Hearthfire

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dandelioff](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dandelioff/gifts).



> Happy New Year's all!  
> This is the longest thing I've ever written. Felt good to expand like that, but I also need to go sleep for a million years now.  
> (people who write 10k+ one-shots, h o w?)  
> Also, if there are tense or spelling mistakes, please comment! I wrote a lot of this at 2/3am, so it's not watertight.

Christmas was… a lot of complicated feelings for Din. Most of his best memories of the holiday were with his family when he was too young to form much more than impressions, warmth, and laughter. He only had a couple of snapshot moments – like the moment his mom found him trying to bake cookies by _covering_ the kitchen in flour – that really stood out to him. 

And after they died, well. It was a holiday about family. And he didn’t have any left. 

As a teen, he’d been bitter and acidic about it, almost determined to not let anyone else around him celebrate too, he’d been so angry about what he’d lost. He’d quickly realised you couldn’t be that much of an asshole all the time without losing friends, and as an adult, he’d mellowed out into just one of those people who didn’t celebrate. 

This year, though. This year he _had_ a family. A small one, maybe, but he had an actual child to make happy. A little toddler that he’d found and named Aadi for new beginnings. This Christmas could be the beginning of something special for them. He sure had his suspicions about the way that the kid had been living at his last one, and he could definitely do better. That particular spur of motivation had quickly been swallowed by the realisation that oh _god he didn’t know how to celebrate Christmas anymore-_

The usual plan of beer and a movie was not going to work. 

Kids loved Christmas, _he’d_ been a kid that loved Christmas – they got toys, and to see Santa, and judging by how entranced his kid was by the fairy lights Din had put up in his room, he would be enraptured by a Christmas tree. And it was up to Din to make that happen. 

So here he was. Stood in the middle of the mall. With a baby strapped to his chest.

It felt more than a little surreal. 

He’d managed to order a tree online, to arrive in a couple of days, and that just left…everything else. His first thought had just been to wing the Christmas shopping. It couldn’t have been that hard, right? People did it every year. It shouldn’t be this overwhelming. _This would be so much easier if there was just one shop and he could pick up one of everything…_ But apparently, that’s not how it worked. Every shop was displaying some kind of offer – how the hell was he supposed to know what kind of Christmas wreath was right? Should he go for a plastic one to re-use it or a real one to be sustainable? 

And did the kid really need a Christmas outfit? The fluffy reindeer onesie in one of the shops was severely tempting him just so he could take cute photos, but the kid was pretty likely to get something on it within five seconds. Probably not worth it. But it would be _so_ cute-

The other important thing he had to get were presents for Aadi. The kid needed more toys anyway, deserved more toys, and this was the time to get them. He just had to decide what to get. Aadi was napping on his chest, so it wasn’t like getting them right now was going to ruin the surprise. And there was a toy shop just across the mall that Din could see-

He crossed over and went inside.

-

Cobb Vanth was not having a good day. First of all, if he had to hear this rotation of the same five Christmas songs one more time, he was going to scream. Second, his boss was an asshole. Third - or maybe second, part two - being ‘ _assistant manager’_ really had turned out to be that Gideon wanted to slack off and not stock shelves. Which Cobb now had to do. Because everyone else had gone home. 

And there was a guy stood in the middle of the aisle, staring at baby toys like they had personally ruined his life. Cobb didn’t think he had ever seen a guy look so concentrated on toys before – and he’d seen a lot of weird shit in this store. But goddammit, store policy was to ask every customer-

“Hey there, can I help you?”

And honest to God, the guy jumped. When he spun around to face Cobb, he could see a small toddler with fluffy dark hair fast asleep and strapped to his chest. The guy was pretty good looking – he had a tall, dark, and handsome look going on - but his hair was completely wild. The odd stuck-up angles suggested it was from running his hands through it too many times – and the pull between his eyebrows told Cobb that this guy was exhausted. Toddlers tended to do that to you.

“No, I… Actually, yes. I have no idea what to get him for Christmas,” he said, surprisingly softly. 

Seriously? This guy didn’t have any idea what his kid would want?

Not the worst thing, dads could be a bit clueless sometimes, “Ok, how old is he?”

“About 18 months. I’m not sure exactly.”

He…didn’t know how old his kid was. _Alright then._

“Well, kids that age usually like something soft and with a nice texture for them to feel. There’s a frog toy here could be good?” Best to go for something generic, especially if the guy didn’t know his kid at all. 

“Hold on, let me ask him.”

…Ask him. A sleeping toddler.

Very gently, the man woke up the toddler, who blinked sleepily, and then gave his dad the most _murderous_ look his baby face could muster. The pout just came off as adorable, or so Cobb thought. The guy was probably in for a tantrum soon, though.

“Hey Aadi, what do you think of this?” He held up the little blue frog for ‘Aadi’s approval. The kid frowned at it and reached for it. The man gave it to him, and the baby studied it very seriously for a second before he gave a small smile, hugged it to his chest and cuddled back up to his dad.

The guy smiled down at him. “I think that’s a yes – thank you.”

“Of course!” God, his customer service voice was awful. “Is there anything else I can help with?”

Abruptly, the man’s posture changed. The guy studied him for a second, dark eyes deadly serious. Bit of a murderous look for a toy store, to be honest. Cobb shifted uncomfortably, wishing the guy would just hurry up and ask whatever it was he was weighing up.

The man took a deep breath, relaxing slightly. “I’m…new at this. I’ve only had Aadi for a few months, and I haven’t really celebrated Christmas before, and I have no idea what I need to get. I’ve gotten as far as a tree, and lights?”

Huh. Not exactly what he expected-

“-and I guess I’m asking for a hand, really. Is there anything that you think is really important?”

Cobb hummed for a second, casting his mind back to childhood Christmases. It hadn’t been perfect – certainly not into his teenage years, but he remembered baking with his mom fondly. Every year, helping assemble a forever lopsided gingerbread house and cramming as much candy as humanly possible onto it until it looked more like a sugar mountain than a house. They’d done it every year.

The man had stopped talking, looking vaguely anxious. The toddler, still awake but sleepy, pulled the frog closer into his chest. Goddammit. This guy was cute, and something about his face – the puppy dog eyes? – was just softening Cobb right up. 

“Y’know, I think my favourite part of Christmas was probably the routines. Re-telling all the old family stories, making the same recipes. If you could think of something your folks did with you, you could pass on the tradition?” He tilted his head, thinking. “Though, your kid’s pretty tiny, so you could stick with a Christmas outfit and a movie this year.”

The man’s eyes widen – Cobb could almost see the bulb go off – and he nods, “Traditions. Yeah. I can do that.” He looked down at the toddler, eyes softening almost imperceptibly. “I just want to make it special for him. I’m not sure if he’s ever had anything like it before.”

Oh, no. Oh _no. Cobb Vanth, you are not going to fall for that, soft brown eyes be damned-_

It was too late. He was already speaking, “Look, it’s almost my lunch break. What’s say you and I have a look round some of these shops and get you some decorations? I don’t mean any offence, but you look…” _Handsome_. “…flustered.”

The man perks up, looking hopeful – “Would you? I would really appreciate some help if I’m not intruding on your day.” _Nope, just letting him avoid his boss_ \- “I’m Din, by the way. Din Djarin.”

“Cobb Vanth. A pleasure to meet you, Din, and was it Aadi?” Studying Din, Cobb could tell they were probably about the same age – Din maybe a bit younger – and the parental chaos may be worse than he first thought, little details adding up to a frazzled picture. There was even a small pink kitten sticker on his jumper - whether it was a choice or Din had just forgotten to take it off probably didn’t matter. It was pretty endearing.

Only had a toddler for a few months. Well, he loved a mystery man.

“Yeah, Aadi.”

Cobb nodded, “How about we start with a list? I’ll ring you up and then you can search it up while I tell my boss I’m heading out.”

He rang up the frog, giving it back quickly to narrowly avoid tears, and walked to the back. Gideon was nowhere to be seen, so he dropped a note on the counter. When he got back, Din was flicking through his phone, other hand absently stroking the kid’s back. 

He glanced up, smiling faintly at Cobb before he went back to it. “I googled what someone needs for their first Christmas – most of it seems to be about the tree? I think I need more ornaments.” His eyebrows furrowed. “Poinsettias for floral decoration? What _are_ poinsettias?”

“Partner, you don’t need poinsettias. Let me have a look at that-” He took the phone but caught sight of Din’s incredulous expression. “-What?”

“Partner?” He sounded a little panicked.

Cobb flushed. Maybe it was a bit strong. “We’re partners in crime, y’know? Partners in Christmas at least. Anyway, come on- there’s a craft store here that sells fairy lights and cheap bauble sets.”

That earned a smile from Din – not a full one – but still enough that it warmed his face, eyes sparkling. So not just cute. Adorable.

They slowly made their way through the basics of Christmas, chatting a little as they went. Din didn’t seem to be the most relaxed, or the most talkative, but he _did_ have an extremely dry sense of humour that had Cobb a little nervous that at some point he was going to laugh at something serious and offend Din horribly. The main challenge they faced was Din’s desire to make everything perfect; Cobb could feel almost anxious energy radiating from him when they chose decorations. He felt a little bad for his earlier assumption of him being some kind of uncaring parent – it became pretty clear the guy only had one priority. 

They got lights, baubles, a stuffed penguin for Aadi, and some wrapping paper. Somehow, Din had apparently thought about wrapped presents under a tree but hadn’t connected that with having to _wrap_ the presents themselves.

Interestingly, Din picked out a set of cookie cutters too, claiming to have a recipe for gingerbread somewhere that he could dig out. His tone was light, but there was a pinch to his mouth that suggested to Cobb that there was…more to that particular story.

Several bags and a hundred dollars or so later, they reached the end of the list – the final item being a frankly adorable snowman onesie for Din’s kid, with a tiny carrot nose on the hood. They’ve ended up in the middle of the mall, not far from the food court. The kid woke up a little while ago and started to make little grumbly noises that had Din mumbling to him in a language that Cobb wasn’t familiar with, but the soothing tone was clear. 

Din turned to face him, the vaguely anxious look back on his face again. What was this guy nervous about?

“Well. This has been nice. You didn’t have to- Thank you for helping me. Us.” The baby let out another grumble, kicking his feet against Din’s chest. “-I know you’re hungry, buddy.” He looked back up at Cobb. “We’re done – we got to get this one fed.”

Oh. Well, it’s not like Cobb wasn’t used to rejection, but that was a little harsh.

He opened his mouth for an extremely graceful acceptance of that stinging rejection, but Din was still speaking, “Wait no- Sorry, I meant we as in _we_. Do you want to grab lunch with me? I mean, you don’t have to, but if you have time left…” He trailed off.

Cobb smirked at him, “Nice save.”

“Is that…a no?”

“Course not, you got anywhere in mind?” 

-

It turned out that no, Din did not have anywhere in mind because he had never been to this mall before. So, it was up to Cobb to decide. 

His favourite was the burrito place directly across from his shop so that’s where they ended up – through a combination of the desire to see Din attempt to juggle a toddler and a burrito, and because he knew they would do some non-spicy options for said little monster. 

Though it probably wasn’t the best place for a date – _was this a date?_ – Cobb thought as he wiped yet another bit of sauce from his mouth. 

Din was more relaxed here, actually starting to open up. So far, he’s found out that Din was a carpenter, that he rode a motorbike, and that he liked his coffee complicated and with lots of flavoured syrups, but since having the kid it’s been black and chugged as quick as he could. He was quiet and already seemed like a pretty intense person. In a good way, but still. To make eye contact with him was…a lot. 

Cobb hadn’t earned a full smile from him yet, just small ones and raspy chuckles, but he was determined to get a full grin before their lunch was up. From the adoring way Din looked at his kid? Cobb would bet good money that he was the last person to see that, so. Bets were on that being the key. Cobb checked his watch. Fifteen more minutes. 

Inevitably, they got onto talking about the toddler – talking about him lit Din up from the inside, the love palpable just from his voice. 

“You said you’ve only had him a few months? Unexpected surprise?” _Cobb that was too rude-_

Din sputtered into his drink, “No- he’s adopted. I found him in a dumpster, last year. I had to give him up to social services first of all, but I couldn’t stop thinking about him. I went back and started the fostering process last year, and we’re finally at the point where I think I’m going to be able to adopt him next year.”

Christ, a _dumpster_? That’s…horrible.

He didn’t voice that, though. Din likely already thought about it a lot. “He’s lucky to have you. You’re doing a good job with him.”

“I hope so. He’s a special kid.”

“Hey, hopefully, he’ll inherit the tall, dark and handsome traits!” Cobb blurted it out without thinking but-

 _That_ got a grin out of Din?

It spread all the way across his face, lightening the stress there – _good Lord, the man had **dimples**_. As much as he just embarrassed himself, that was worth it.

Still grinning, Din said, “You think I’m handsome?” He laughed a little, eyes crinkling.

Avoiding eye contact for a second to cringe at himself, Cobb glanced down at his watch. _Shit, wait_ \- he’d completely overrun. He was going to be late back to the shop, Gideon was going to _kill_ him. Slightly panicked, he looked back up at Din “I’m over my lunch break,” he grabbed his phone and stood up, “I gotta go.”

Din scrambled for a second, grabbing- his phone?

“Wait- Cobb, can I have your number? That is, if this was a ‘ _you’re kinda cute_ ’ lunch and not a ‘ _you looked so tired you needed lunch’_ , lunch.”

Oh, that’s reassuring. “Well, you looked like you needed a burrito. But yes – You’re _cute.”_

Turns out slightly cliché compliments are worth it to watch Din’s eyes widen at the confirmation. After a moment of a blue screening expression, Din blinked and said, “Well, I’m free most of all the time – I saved up a bunch of holidays to have Christmas with Aadi. So, I’ll text you?”

Cobb took his phone and typed in his number. “Please do, but I _really_ have to go now.”

As he walked away, he heard Din finally notice what his kid was doing.

“Aadi- _no_ \- Don’t drink the hot sauce-!”

-

No-one told him that putting up Christmas decorations would be this much work. 

The Christmas tree looked good, sure, but trying to put baubles on a tree with a toddler that was obsessed with pulling them down? Impossible. The tree had ended up having an odd pattern to its decorations – top-heavy with the one’s Din had put out of Aadi’s reach, as well as a ring of baubles on the bottom that the toddler had insisted he put on. It was clearly a very important job. 

Oh, but it had been adorable. Din had switched on the lights, and the kid’s eyes had gone even larger, even wider, fixed in adoration at the tree. Looking at him so happy? It just felt right. 

The kid being adorable did not ever stop him from being a goblin, though.

He’d just sat down for a second to look at his phone, when he caught movement out of the corner of his eye, “Aadi, don’t touch that!” 

Too late. The toddler pulled on a stray branch with all his grabby might and Din could see the tree tilting right towards his head. Din launched out of his chair, one hand up to catch the tree, the other outstretched to grab Aadi to his chest- 

He steadied the tree, a few baubles tinkling to the floor. The kid – the kid was looking up and him and giggling. Din didn’t even attempt to look stern. It was a good thing, really - the social worker said that Aadi feeling safe enough to push boundaries around Din was a good sign, one that showed he was a safe presence. So aside from the momentary panic, it did make his heart melt a little more. 

His phone pinged - a message from Cobb. They’d been texting a lot in the last couple of days. It was nice, really. Easy. Cobb had a sort of easy-going attitude that had Din relaxing a little more than usual, rather than being so nervous that he clammed up. 

Cobb had said he was free that night, so they’d planned to go to a restaurant downtown that he recommended. As far as Din could tell from googling it, it was a nice, low level Italian – perfect for a first date. Again, like Cobb, nice and relaxed. He shouldn’t have to stress about it that much, but he was stressing about it that much. 

It’ll be the first time he’s left the toddler with someone else. His neighbour, Omera, said she would watch him, and wasn’t like Omera was bad with kids, it was just-

He didn’t want to leave him. 

Whatever had happened to Aadi before Din had found him had obviously left some lasting scars, the most obvious of which was the ‘attachment problems.’ That was what social services called it. Din preferred to call it _‘I am the first constant adult presence this kid has ever had, and it makes total sense that he’s scared I’ll leave.’_

None of it was much fun to think about, and even if Aadi was adorable and bright, there were problems. He had frequent nightmares. At the start, Din couldn’t even leave the room without him panicking. He flinched at loud noises in a way that no toddler should. 

It made Din’s blood boil. 

They’d been working towards longer separations, but it had been slow progress. He’d been having the kind of day where he barely let Din put him down when they met Cobb, but those were getting rarer. He could do half a night’s sleep without needing to see Din, and that was about three hours. Din can’t see the date going on for much longer than that – so his aim was to wear the kid out enough that he would sleep at Omera’s, and Din can be back before he woke. 

Once he’d made Aadi dinner – some tomato pasta that got all over his clothes – the kid was nicely sleepy, and Din put him down with little fuss. He wasn’t completely asleep, but was about there. Apparently, letting him fall asleep on his own was important. 

He quickly checked his phone – it was about half six, and he was due to meet Cobb at seven, so he better hurry up. 

The restaurant wasn’t going to be that upscale, right? From the google search, it didn’t seem like the type of place with a dress code, so he’s settled on a smarter pair of black jeans and a nice white shirt. That, plus a leather jacket would be fine. Hopefully. 

The hair- his hair was a lost cause. The best he could go for was slightly tousled rather than extremely messy, but he does look nicer than usual. Last thing – he’s got to smell nice, it was important-

He went to grab his cologne, but his phone went off at the same time – Cobb? – and his hand slipped, distracted, and he watched seemingly in slow motion as the bottle tipped off the edge, hurtling towards the floor –

And smashed, the noise crashing off the walls. 

Almost instantly he heard the kid – a sharp cry that came from his room quickly turning into a frightened scream. 

“Shit, _shit **shit**_ -“ He ran into Aadi’s room, and found him huddled against the wall of his bed, tears already streaming down his face. Din reached for him, but the kid shied away and buried his face in his arms.

This has happened so many times that he should know what to do automatically, but every time he thinks he has it down, the sight of so much fear in his little boy’s eyes made every bit of research fly out of his mind, pushed out by the need to scoop him up and hide him from every hurt in the world.

But that wouldn’t fix anything.

“Aadi? It’s ok. I just dropped something. I’m going to come a little closer now.”

At the sound of his voice, the kid opened his eyes and slowly reached out, recognition coming back in. Din picked him up, hugging him tightly to his chest. The volume of sobs in his ear was slightly painful, but there was no way in the world he was going to put down this child now.

There was…no way he was going out tonight. If he’d just been a bit more careful, he wouldn’t have upset him-

No, the social worker said this would happen. Setbacks. They couldn’t avoid it – they had to learn to deal with it. He rocked Aadi carefully, side to side, but the sobs weren’t lessening, and Din started to get a little concerned about how much energy the kid was spending, but it might just send him back to sleep. 

There was also no way that the kid was going to let go of him – Din was a safe adult to him, so it made sense for him to seek comfort – but his back was going to start aching. _All his fault._

They stayed there, gently rocking, while the kids crying died down as he tired himself out. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when his phone suddenly rang – luckily, he’d already chosen a soft ringtone months ago to avoid disturbing the kid.

Cobb. Oh _shit._ The date.

He answered the call, mindful to keep his voice low. “Hey- I’m sorry-”

Cobb sounded pretty annoyed. _“Look Din, if you were going to stand me up, you could have just said. I’m not fragile- “_

“Aadi had a meltdown. I smashed something by accident and- well. I can’t come out.”

_“Oh.”_

“I’m so sorry for making you go all the way out; I understand if you don’t want to re-organise- “

 _“You up for visitors?”_ interrupted Cobb. “ _I can drive to your place; we could have a night in?”_

Din blinked. That was not what he had expected. “He might have a nightmare now, but if you’re fine with dealing with a cranky toddler, then yes. That works.”

_“Great, what’s your address?”_

Din told him, with Cobb promising to be over soon, and then hung up. And Din was left in his kids’ bedroom – a limpet toddler attached to his shoulder – feeling a little shell-shocked at the idea that someone wanted to see him so much he was willing to look over being stood up and forced to deal with an upset child.

Maybe Cobb did like him.

He settled down into a chair in the living room, a snuffling Aadi still tucked into his shoulder. God, he was tired. He slept when the kid slept, and half the time that wasn’t at all. The adrenaline of the bottle smash had left him, and he’s left bone tired. He’ll just sit a moment, wait for Cobb. Maybe rest his eyes a second…

-

A sharp rap at the door jerked him awake, the kid whimpering a little at the sudden moment. He took a second to shush Aadi before he got up and opened the door. _He must look a mess._

Oh. Well, he looked a mess, but Cobb looked amazing. Black trousers, and a nice black jacket, with a red wine button-down that was just unbuttoned enough to show the slope of his neck…

He should make it less obvious that he was staring.

“Look at the pair of us. All dressed up with no place to go,” Cobb smiled warmly, a sympathetic look on his face.

Din nodded tiredly, opening the door more. “I’m really sorry about this. Are you sure you’re still good to go ahead?”

“You being this good with your kid? It just goes in your favour for me. And restaurants are kinda stuffy, anyway. I would have gotten sauce on my shirt.” He stepped inside and shrugged his jacket off. Din felt a flash of self-consciousness – how long had it been since he had dusted? But Cobb didn’t seem to care, only patting his shoulder in a strangely familiar way as he walked deeper into the house.

Din directed him to the living room, and Cobb flopped down onto the sofa as though he belonged there. “So, how we are doing this, partner?”

That word again. Cobb had to mean it in a flirtatious way, right? It sounded like something out of a cheesy cowboy movie. 

Pushing thoughts of that word out, he said, “Well, I can’t put this one down. He’s going to be like a limpet until he calms all the way down.”

Cobb hummed, “Alright. Let’s say we order something to eat here and see how it goes? What takeout do you like?”

And that’s how they found themselves awkwardly crowded on Din’s sofa with Chinese, trying to manoeuvre chopsticks around a toddler. In his opinion, you could get as fancy as you wanted with takeout, but good fried rice was all you really needed in life. Cobb was apparently a spice fan and got General Tso’s, telling Din that the burn helped him feel alive.

Sure. 

They kept bumping elbows, and Din was trying to pretend it didn’t make his cheeks burn like a teenager with their first crush. He was a full-grown man, for God’s sake-

But Cobb was warm and lovely, and laughed at his awkward stories, and the conversation was easy like nowhere before, and his cheeks were burning from laughing too hard anyway.

Aadi had dropped off to sleep eventually, much calmer than earlier. Din pulled away from Cobb – when had his arm come around Din’s shoulders? - muttering a quiet apology. He put Aadi down and tucked the new stuffed frog he picked out with Cobb in his arms. He had a little time – the kid was tuckered out, but he knew there was a nightmare on the horizon.

He went back to Cobb and picked a film – Klaus. Cobb said he loved it, and was animatedly talking about the 2D animation techniques in it, but all Din could pay attention to was the feeling of his fingers lightly running through his hair. He started to gently drift, lulled by Cobb’s voice, his head resting on Cobb’s shoulder-

A sharp cry echoed through the apartment.

Instantly, he jumped up, bleary-eyed, almost running towards the bedroom, and this time, Aadi was reaching directly for him. He scooped him up again, and the kid grabbed on tight, small whimpers escaping in his crying. He still sounded sleepy, though. No wonder, with the amount of energy that he expended this evening. With the same gentle rocking as earlier, the kid was drifting off again quickly, the nightmare luckily not too severe. Din was extremely grateful for that – another panic for the kid would…suck. He gently put the Aadi in the crib, and just watched him breathe for a second.

He barely noticed Cobb come into the room, but the warm hand on his shoulder was nice. It was _painfully_ domestic, and he felt himself get a little choked up. Maybe this was all a bit too soon for a first date-

“You’ve had it hard, huh.” Oh, Cobb was a _lot_ closer than he thought.

Hard didn’t even begin to cover Aadi’s life. “He’s been through a lot. We’re not entirely sure what. But I found him dirty and alone, and that screams of something shitty to me.”

“What can you do about it? He seemed good at the mall.”

“There must have been specific triggers,” he swallowed hard, “from specific traumas. He can’t stand sudden loud noise – that was what caused earlier, me dropping my cologne. And, if I’m gone for too long, I think he thinks I’m not coming back. The reason he was so good at the mall was because he was strapped to my chest the entire time.”

“That’s…that’s hard.”

Din wouldn’t blame Cobb at all if that made him have second thoughts about him. It was a lot to deal with. Cobb gently pulled his shoulder, turning him to face him. In the dark of the room, Cobb's silhouette was almost invisible, outlined by the moonlight. The whole scenario didn’t feel exactly real, and Din smothered the urge t0 laugh at the absurdity of it. And really, it was absurd-

“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.” _Din this is the first date, don’t go over sharing this hard._

“Why not? You seem to be doing pretty well from where I’m standing.” Cobb’s hand was rubbing slow circles on his back.

“God, I just- Some of the time,” _All of the time,_ “it just seems like he needs more than I can give him.” 

“Do you love him?”

“What- Yes, of course.”

Cobb’s tone sharpened, “Do you resent him for his issues?”

 _“No,_ Cobb, what the-”

“Are you ever going to stop trying, ever going to give up on him?”

“God, no, _what are you getting at?”_

The hand on his back moved to his neck. “Din, based on that? I’d say you’re doing just fine. I’ve seen parents who don’t care. You can tell. You can also tell that you love that kid more than anything.” He gently ran his hand through Din’s hair. “You’re just fine.”

They went back to the sofa and finished the movie, just letting it run onto the next one. At some point, later into the night, Cobb leant down and murmured, “It’s getting pretty late to be getting home. Should I be going?”

“Do you want to?” His voice sounded so warm and sleepy. 

“It’s real warm right here. I’m quite comfortable- “

“I want you to stay,” Din blurted. 

He could feel the warmth of Cobb’s smile even through the darkness.

“Then I’ll stay. I’ll stay right here.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! As always, any comments/criticism welcome :)  
> Also, for justification, I could not bring myself to name a human child Grogu. I just couldn't do it. Plus, the name Aadi means beginning in Sanskrit (according to google), so it seemed appropriate.
> 
> come say hi on my [ tumblr!](https://retro-jupiter.tumblr.com/)  
> \- Esher (they/them)


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